You may recall that levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) have been shown to correlate with human longevity, such as in centenarian studies. Here is another very long term study that also shows an association, using a "fifty-three-year prospective follow-up of Gofman's Livermore Cohort between 1954 and 2008. ... One thousand one hundred forty-four men who consented to the study, had analytic ultracentrifuge measurements of lipoprotein subfractions at baseline, and were old enough at baseline to have survived to age 85 during follow-up. ... Three hundred ninety men survived to 85 years old (34.1%). Survivors were less likely than nonsurvivors to be in the lowest HDL3 and HDL2 quartiles. Logistic regression analyses showed that the lowest HDL3 quartile significantly predicted shorter longevity. ... Men who were above the 25th HDL3 percentile had 70% greater odds of surviving until age 85 than those below this level, which persisted when adjusted for HDL2, very low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and standard risk factors. Proportional hazard analyses of survival before age 85 showed that being in the lowest HDL3 quartile increased age-adjusted cancer risk by 39% and noncancer risk by 23% when adjusted for other risk factors."

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22329432